BILLY JOEL - Honestly

Piano man? Back street guy? Rock & Roll idol? Who is the real Billy Joel? Why is his music
loved and listened to by so many people? For me, one of the answers is versatility, but that's not all. There's honesty in Joel's lyrics - a refusal to settle for the banal, or take the easy way out. Although Billy Joel composes 'music first, lyrics later', and his background is in classical music, Joel's lyrics read like the best poetry. It's not surprising to learn that he pays a lot of attention to his writing, as well as to his musical composition.

Let's unravel the threads of Billy Joel's existence to see where this incredible composer came from, and what he's been through these past 49 years.

BILLY THE KID

Billy Joel is his real name - William Martin Joel. Born on 9 May 1949 in the Bronx, he grew up with both parents and a sister (Judy) in Levittown, Long Island, NY. Billy's father, Howard, is a born German Jew, who migrated with his parents first to Switzerland, then to America via Cuba. Howard met Joel's mother, Rosalind, at the City College of New York in Manhattan when they both were singers in the Gilbert & Sullivan players group. Joel's father was a classically trained pianist. His mother's parents met at London's Royal Albert Hall during a Gilbert Sullivan Operetta. They then got married, immigrated to the States and lived in Brooklyn, New York.

Billy started piano lessons at age 4, but disliked learning classical music. The endless hours of practice were a chore for him. He began composing early - pretending to be playing Mozart/whatever while composing his own music in a classical style! Billy "idolized the Beatles, especially Paul - nobody could come up with the melodies he could."

When Billy was eight years old his parents divorced. His dad remarried and settled in Vienna. Billy didn't see his father again until he was in his twenties, by which time he had a half-brother, Charles Alexander. Billy has a lot in common with his brother, who is conductor of an operetta company.

BILLY AND HIS BAND

In his early teens Billy took up boxing, and street gangs. Happily that didn't last long. By the age of 15 he had 'switched' from classical music to Rock, and started his first band - The Echoes - which played cover versions of popular hits including songs by The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. The Echoes became The Lost Souls, The Emerald Lords and The Hassles in quick succession. The Hassles were signed to United Artists (UA) Records in 1968. Their self-titled debut album contained original songs by Joel as well as covers.

After one more album (Hour of the Wolf) and some singles, The Hassles disbanded. Billy and Jon Small (Hassles drummer) formed Attila, and recorded an all-original album Billy later described as "psychedelic bullshit". Jon's wife Elizabeth eventually left him for Joel, and they were married in 1973. After Attila he worked for a while as a rock journalist for Changes magazine, and played on commercial jingles for a living.

At twenty-one Joel did time (voluntarily) in a psychiatric observation ward because of depression which had led to a suicide attempt. According to Joel "The first day I was there I realized ... my problems were nothing compared to what these other people were going through." "...realizing how insignificant, and solvable, my problems really were, made me resolve to never really feel that sorry for myself ever again."

In 1971 Joel recorded his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbour. He was embarrassed by the record, which was mastered at the wrong speed. Joel toured for six months to support Coldspring Harbour, opening for acts like J. Geils Band and Badfinger. Discouraged, he moved to California, and performed as Bill Martin at Corky's on Van Nuys Blvd and at the Executive Lounge piano bar on Wiltshire Blvd. After Cold Spring Harbour, Joel kept churning out albums (and hits). Between 1973 (Piano Man) and 1993 (River of Dreams) he made eleven albums, plus his Greatest Hits Volumes I and II, and over 50 singles, CD's and cassettes.

FAMILY MAN

Billy Joel's first marriage didn't last long. In March 1985 he married the model Christie Brinkley, who inspired Uptown Girl. Their honeymoon baby - Alexa Ray - was born in December of the same year. He jokes about their divorce (1994), in his usual flippant style, but there was a lot of pain and hurt in the couple's break-up. He and Christie are still friends, and they have joint custody of Alexa - the real love of his life, and "My priority above anything. Above music."

Joel enjoys fishing, owns a fishing boat named Alexa and a boat-building business (with Peter Needham). His current romantic partner is Carolyn Beegan - a painter whose portrait of Joel is featured on the cover of River of Dreams.

WORKING WITH FRIENDS

Among Joel's friends in the music business are Paul Simon and Elton John. Frankie Valli, Burt Bacahrach, Phil Spector and Ray Charles are some of the artists who have influenced him musically. He has recorded songs by Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper and Leonard Cohen, as well as McCartney and Lennon, and has worked with Bette Midler and Willie Nelson. His voice is the voice of "Scrooge" on Disney's "Oliver and Company" (1996). Billy is on tour this year with Elton John.

BACK TO THE CLASSICS

Joel shocked fans when he announced that he was giving up pop and starting to write classical music. But that's not so surprising when you listen to him talk about how he composes. Several of his pop pieces started out as classical themes (e.g. Goodnight Saigon, Angry Young Man, The Ballad of Billy the Kid, and Uptown Girl). He can't play the music he composes, so in October last year at Tanglewood Joel nervously introduced a couple of his new works, played by Yuliya Gorenman.

Not satisfied with just composing, Joel is writing a book based on the master classes he's given at colleges around the world. He's also written piano sketches themed on the history of Long Island that he would like to develop as a suite to accompany a film of "Men's Lives", the Peter Matthiesson book about Long Island's baymen.

With some composers, almost all their songs sound alike. Perhaps partly due to his classical training, Joel has managed to keep bringing a fresh angle to his songs that keeps me listening. Interesting lyrics that often tell a story. As a poet I go for a song with good lyrics that aren't drowned out by the music. The personal touch.

He isn't afraid to bring his personal experiences and feelings into his lyrics. That gives his work an honesty, a nakedness that I appreciate. It's like listening to an old friend pouring his heart out. His voice. It's reported that Billy doesn't like his own voice. The falsetto he used in his earlier career was extraordinarily sweet and clear without being cloying or effeminate. And he can do things with his voice - make it rough or tender to suit the mood of the song.

A message without a pulpit. The best poetry/lyrics have a deeper-than-surface meaning, but that's not easy to do without sounding preachy. Joel speaks out in his music in a way that is rarely heard so consistently in the work of modern composers. Billy Joel is to Rock and Roll/Pop what Bob Marley was to Reggae.

"Goodnight Saigon":
(pictured right; from The Nylon Curtain) The simple, stark images of this tribute to the soldiers who endured Vietnam touch me deeply, even without the sound effects of helicopters and wind-chimes on the album version.

THE EDU-TAINER

What does Joel have to say about his own favorites? For him the best song was the last one. And that's how it should be - always striving to do it better. Instead of closeting himself away, Billy Joel has been active on the college circuit, giving practical advice to those who seek it. He speaks frankly, and without bitterness, of his experiences with bad managers. He can talk about his mistakes, and his plans for the future. He hasn't stopped growing - there's more to come.